YI will respectfully have to disagree with you. There are people who come here to ask for advice and opinions. They have saved up money and are between shoes. They want honest opinions. They are not looking for praise, praise, praise while in the meantime the straps are falling off. They already know that JL, EG and G&G are nice, expensive shoes.
Guys, watch this. There are among us the people for whom money is no object. Literally, $2-3K means absolutely nothing to them. JL, EG etc are nice shoes. If they look good to their eyes and they are the most expensive money can buy and they mean prestige and class, they will just buy them. They don't last long? So much the better because it means it's time for a new pair. There is the people who literally have one and only one criterion when it comes to buying anything: is it the most expensive money can buy?
Always put things into perspective.
I just don't see why you can't praise and criticize at the same time. Did your parents always praise you, no matter what?
This is called cognitive dissonance run amuck....I'd bet you prefer a Casio to a Patek because a Patek simply is a rip. LOLQuite honestly it bothers me that people will not call it for what it is. JL is at the bottom. Let me say this and someone can say otherwise. If you care about construction and longevity, for example, let's start with stitching. Of the top brands, G&G comes ahead by a far margin. Of the 20+ pairs I have owned, I never saw loose stitching or stitching that was not done properly in some way. EG and JL, on the other hand, all the time. All the time. In my opinion, the stitching is what should separate an expensive pair from one that's in the $200-400 range. G&G does not belong in this category of shoes when you hold them up and examine them carefully. EG to me is a big disappointment in that regard and so is JL. In terms of leather I would put JL at the bottom between the 3. JL I have also seen the outsole where the closed stitching is done, that portion of the leather they pull back to do the stitching to come unglued in no time.
Oh, speaking of stitching, Vass way better than both EG and JL.